Sexual networking of market women in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.

The manifestation of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) all over the world has increased the need for information on the nature and pattern of sexual networking in Africa, where there is a dearth of such information. In the present study, information on the sexual networking of market women in Benin City, Nigeria, was obtained using a questionnaire instrument. The questionnaire covered the sexual, reproductive, and health behaviors of these women. The data revealed that the levels of both premarital and extramarital sexual networking are high. Such a high degree of sexual networking has exposed a number of these women to sexually transmitted diseases. The manifestation of AIDS in this society will be widespread and devastating to the people and the society because these women are in a polygamous relationship in a society that frowns on the use of contraceptives by couples. In addition, controversies surround the correlation between socioeconomic status (SES) and AIDS, geographical areas of prevalence, and the role of prostitutes in the spread of the disease. For example, studies in Africa show that whereas there is no correlation between SES and AIDS in Kinshasa, the attack rate was higher in educated people in Rwanda and Zambia. Moreover, there are predominantly urban outbreaks in other countries, such as Uganda (Piot & Carael, 1988).